Wire belt structure



o. c. scHERFEL.

WIRE BELT STRUCTURE Filed sept. 1 12, 1941 Aug. 1v1,

, EA/o .HTTOR NEY Patented Aug. 11, 1942 I WIRE BELT STRUCTURE Otto Carl Scherfel, Philadelphia, Pa., assigner to Audubon Wire Cloth Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application September 12, 1941, Serial No. 410,511

' 5 Claims. (C1. .SM5- 6) 'Ihe invention relates to a wire belt structure and is directed specifically to a belt which is made up of successive coils of wire of the same twist and so arranged as to obviate the tendency of such'a belt to creep and thereby move the belt laterally on its supporting rollers during the longitudinal movement of the belt.

It is well known that wire belts which are made up of coils of the same twist have a tendency to creep sidewise due to the screw-like action of the successive coils as they ypass around the supporting rollers, and to the absence of any part of the belt structure from a position in which it might restrain the lateral movement of the successive coils where these coils overlap each other to form a hinging joint, with a hinging rod extending through the loops at the overlapping portions. In order to prevent this creeping action the common practice has been to arrange one of the end rollers at an angle to the run of the belt. The difliculty has also been obviated in the manufacture of the belts by employing coils of both right and left hand twist, the tendency of the belt to creep in one direction by reason of the coils of one twist being compensated for by the tendency to creep in the other direction due to the coils of the opposite twist.

I have found that this creeping action of a belt made of coils of the same twist may be avoided, to a large extent, by overlapping the turns of successive coils so that the turns are completely nested, and nonsuccessive coils are connected together by the hinge rods. When the coils are arranged and connected in this manner, the overlapping loops by means of which each of the coils is connected to another coil by a hinge rod are separated by one or more intermediate portions of the turns of other coils. These intervening portions thus serve to prevent the screw-like movement of the hinged coils lengthwise on their hinging rods when the successive coils contact with the supporting and driving rollers as the belt passes around them.

The present invention therefore has for its principal object the provision, in a-wire belt made of coils of the same twist, of a structure which will obviate the tendency of such a belt to creep laterally as it moves around its supporting rolls. vention to provide a wire belt which is of neat appearance in that both faces thereof resemble a cord fabric of uniform weave.

Still further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following de- It is also an object of the in- Y' scription taken with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a plan view of a short section of wire belt having the present improvement incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of one of the unitary coils and cross rods of which the belt is formed;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the unitary structure shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the belt as it appears when flexed in passing around a supporting roller.

While other forms of coils may be employed in the practice of the invention, as disclosed herein the improvement is incorporated in a belt made of helical coils Ill, the turns of which are elongated or flattened to thus provide edge loops II and substantially straight intermediate portions I2 and I3 connecting the loops in a manner well known in the art. When the coils are formed in this manner and assembled in a belt so that the turns are successively nested, the parallel intermediate portions I2 eX- tend in one direction in one face of the belt while the parallel intermediate portions I3 extend at an angle thereto in the opposite face of the belt. Each face of the belt thus has the appearance of a cord fabric of uniform weave, as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing. This arf rangement ofthe parts of each coil is such that each turn of the wire in a coiL that is, two

adjoining intermediate portions I2, I3, with their connecting loop II, has the appearance of the letter V with one leg in one face of the belt and the other leg in the other face thereof.

In assembling the parts of the present belt, helical coils I0 of the same twist are brought together by overlapping the turns thereof so that the V-portions of the turns of successive coils are completely nested, with the straight portions I2 on one face of the belt contacting successively with each other, and the straightA portions I3 on the other face contacting successively with each other. The pitch of the helical coils and the length of the turns, that is, the distance between the loop portions II on opposite edges of the coils, are such that the turns of successive coils overlap to such an extent that nonsuccessive coils may be connected together by hinge rods I4.

While the present improvement may be adapted to other forms of construction, as disclosed herein it is incorporated in a belt in which the turns of each coil IIJ overlap substantially half-way within the turns of the adjacent coils. When constructed in this manner the loops II on one edge of each coil overlap the loops II on the adjacent edge of every other coil so that a hinge rod I4 may extend through the opening I5 thus formed by the overlapping portions of the loops of two non-successive coils. With this arrangement the adjacent loops of the connected coils are separated, on each face of the belt, by one of the straight intermediate portions I2, I3 of another coil. With a given wire size the pitch of the coils is such that the space between adjacent loops of connected coils is entirely taken up by this intervening intermediate portion. Due to this feature of the construction, the loops II of the various coils are prevented from moving lengthwise of the hinging rods I4 due to the normal tendency of the coils to creep as the belt passes around its supporting rollers.

With the form disclosed, each connector or hinge rod I4 extends through three coils, that is, through the loops of the turns of the two connected coils and through the central portion of the intervening coil. It will be understood however that the construction may be varied by changing the pitch of the coils and the length of the turns thereof so that each rod I4 will take in more than three coils, or each coil will have more than three connecting rods extending therethrough. If, for example, the construction is such that each coil encloses four rods, the connected loop portions II will be separated by two of the straight intermediate portions I2 or I3.

The hinge rods I4 are preferably secured to the coils by welding the opposite ends thereof to the ends of one of the connected coils, as shown at It. When the belt is constructed in kthis manner each coil is unitary with the hinging rod which extends through the loops II along one edge thereof as illustrated in Fig. 3.

As will be apparent from the above description and the showing in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the individual coils are restrained against endwise movement as they pass around the supporting rollers by the nested arrangement of the turns of successive coils. In the passage of the belt around a supporting roller each coil is moved slightly out of the plane of the belt, this movement being possible by reason of the relative size of the cross rods I4 and the width of the turns of the coils. In this flexing movement of the belt, the loops on one edge of each successive coil hinge about the axis of the cross rod I4 in the loops at the opposite edge, and the coil is held against endwise movement by the engagement of the intermediate portions I2 and I3 of that particular coil with the corresponding parts of adjacent coils. The belt thus passes around its supporting rollers without the creeping action which usually takes place with belts made of coils of the same twist.

As pointed out above, the improvement is not limited to the precise structure and arrangement disclosed. VThe disclosure is therefore to be regarded as illustrative only, and it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in other forms so long as they are within the scope of the claims hereby made.

What I desire to claim is:

1. A wire belt comprising a succession of helical coils of the same twist and flattened to provide hinge loops on the edges thereof and straight intermediate portions connecting the loops, the coils being arranged with the turns thereof in overlapping relation Within the turns of adjacent coils and with the loops on one edge overlapping the loops on the edge of a non-successive coil to form a connecting rod opening, and a connecting rod extending through each connecting rod opening to connect non-successive coils together.

2. A wire belt comprising a succession of nested helicalVcoils having the same twist and attened to provide turns with end hinge loops and straight intermediate portions, said coils having such a pitch that the loops on one edge of each coil overlap the loops on the adjacent edge of a non-successive coil to form therewith a hingerod opening, and a hinge rod extending through each of said openings to connect non-successive coils together.

3. A wire belt comprising a succession of nested helical coils of the same twist and having the turns thereof flattened to provide the end hinge loops and straight intermediate portions, a hinge rod extending through overlapping loops of nonsuccessive coils to connect said non-successive coils together and having the ends thereof connected to the opposite ends of one of the connected coils, the overlapping loops of the connected coils being separated on their connecting hinge rod by one or more of said straight intermediate portions.

4. A wire belt comprising a succession of nested helical coils of the same twist, each coil being flattened to provide hinge loops on each edge and straight intermediate portions on opposite faces of the belt, a hinge rod extending through the loops on the edge of each coil for connecting each coil to a, non-successive coil, the loops on the adjacent edges of connected coils being spaced from each other on the connecting hinge rod by one or more of said straight intermediate portions. Y

5. A wire belt comprising helical coils of the same twist flattened to provide hinge loops on each edge and straight intermediate portions on opposite faces of the belt, the coils being arranged in succession with the turns of each coil nested within the turns of successive coils and overlapping the turns of a non-successive coil and with the straight intermediate portions of each coil in contact with the straight intermediate portions of successive coils, a hinge rod extending through the loops on the edge of each coil for connecting each coil to a non-successive coil, the loops on the adjacent edges of connected coils being spaced from each other on the connecting hinge rod by one of said straight intermediate portions.

OTTO CARL SCHERFEL. 

